Screen-Free Week: May 4 – 10, 2015

Date of Release:

MEDIA ADVISORYScreen-Free Week: May 4 -10, 2015Children Around the Globe Unplug and Reconnect with the World Around Them

What: Screen-Free Week is the annual, international celebration where children, families, schools, and communities swap digital entertainment for the joys of life beyond the screen. Instead of watching TV, surfing the web, or playing with apps and video games, they read, play, think, create, get active, and spend more time with family and friends.

When: May 4-10, 2015

Why: Regardless of whether children are consuming "good" or "bad" programming, it's clear that screen media dominates the lives of far too many kids, displacing all sorts of other activities that are integral to childhood. Children who spend less time with screens are more likely to have a more healthy diet, be more active, do better in school, and spend more time in creative play. In addition, it is primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing. Screen-Free Week is a fun and innovative opportunity for families to take a break from digital entertainment and reduce their dependence on it.

Where: Homes, schools, libraries, faith communities, neighborhood associations, and businesses around the world. For a map of Screen-Free Week activities, please see http://www.screenfree.org/find-event/

Who: Kids, families, schools, and whole communities. Organizations endorsing Screen-Free Week include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National WIC Association, KaBOOM!, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Alliance for Childhood, the National Black Child Development Institute, and the American Public Health Association. For a complete list of endorsers, see http://www.screenfree.org/endorsers/

Available for interviews: Nationally recognized experts on children and media-as well as parents and teachers participating in Screen-Free Week-are available for interviews.